Blues' prized prospect playing in Peoria

Jaden Schwartz went right from Colorado College to the NHL last spring and made his much-anticipated debut with the St. Louis Blues.

Now he's back in the classroom - the American Hockey League - with the Peoria Rivermen.

Dave Eminian

Jaden Schwartz went right from Colorado College to the NHL last spring and made his much-anticipated debut with the St. Louis Blues.

Now he's back in the classroom - the American Hockey League - with the Peoria Rivermen.

The prized prospect of the parent club Blues - who grabbed him with the 14th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft - might not be in Peoria but for an NHL lockout that has temporarily halted launch of his NHL career.

"I didn't expect there to be no NHL training camp at all," said Schwartz, 20, after he and fellow lockout victim Ian Cole were among 25 players assigned to Peoria by the Blues in mid-September. "But I don't think about it much. We're here to play, it's what we do. I want to improve while I'm here and do everything I can to help the team."

Schwartz has been on the Blues radar for some time. The 5-foot-9, 179-pound left wing broke scoring records held by future NHLers Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards while in Midget AAA hockey at Notre Dame in Saskatchewan.

He went on to crank out 83 points in 60 games with Tri-City in the USHL in 2009-10, then on to Colorado College for two seasons, where he added 88 more points in 60 games.

He earned NCAA All-America first-team honors in a whirlwind 2011-12 season that also included his NHL debut, and captaincy of Team Canada's bronze-medal World Junior Championships team.

The previous year, he helped Canada win the silver in the WJC. And, while playing at Colorado College with his brother, Rylan, he endured a family tragedy when their sister, Mandi, a player on Yale's hockey team, died in April of 2011 from acute myeloid leukemia.

Schwartz visited her and gave her his silver medal that spring. It was the last time he saw her alive, as she passed away shortly thereafter. She left him with a videotape filled with images of their childhood and messages from her. He keeps it with him today on his laptop.

"Growing up she was the hardest worker in hockey," Schwartz said. "Rylan was the biggest and toughest. Me? I was the worst of the three of us.

"She will always be with me. Everything I do in my life is dedicated to her. Mandi was a tremendous person, the way she treated other people. She was a mentor to me. I modeled my work ethic from her."

His work ethic is part of a skill set that includes great vision and hands, and the ability to make flashy plays while in motion.

His positional play and understanding of the system won him trust with Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock last spring, and he notched two goals and an assist in seven games, then watched the team go through the playoffs.

"In the NHL, every shot, every pass is made with a purpose," Schwartz said. "Those guys are so focused. I had a good opportunity to watch and take all that in during the playoffs. I was in college one day, the NHL the next. So I think I got better from the whole experience.

"I want to keep improving and working while I'm in the AHL, too, make sure I'm ready."

He scored his first goal, in his first NHL game, on his first shot, a rebound that came right to his stick as he skated to the net at Tampa Bay.

"I was in the right place, right time," Schwartz said.

And perhaps this lockout spent in Peoria will serve as the same.

Dave Eminian can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.